Johnny Cueto used his camera phone to pan the white-paneled cabin of the private jet he chartered back to the Bay Area on Friday. There was Giants trainer Anthony Reyes, stifling a grin. There was the back of the pilot’s head. There was Reyes again, shades down this time. There was Cueto and his moneymaking right arm. There was the sling and the gauze and the beige throw pillow tucked underneath it.

Cueto became the 65th major league or minor league pitcher to undergo Tommy John surgery in 2018, according to a database compiled by Hardball Times contributor Jon Roegele. Only one of them, Angels reliever Blake Wood, is older than Cueto, who will turn 33 in February.

The database lists more than 500 professional pitchers who have undergone the reconstructive elbow ligament procedure within the past five years. Just 18 of them were performed on major...